5 Fascinating Reasons Why Laughing Is Awesome For Your Health

You’ve probably heard people say that laughter is the best medicine…but is laughing really good for you?

Norman Cousins thought so. In the 1960’s, after being diagnosed with arthritis, Cousins developed his own humor therapy program and found that laughter helped him to reduce his pain and inflammation to the point where he was able to finally get restful sleep, pain-free.

He eventually recovered due to his efforts. Cousins then helped UCLA Medical School to establish a Humor Research Task Force, which researches laughter and humor in a medical context.

Since then, there have been several studies on the effects of laughter, and therapeutic humor now has a place in medicine—The American Association for Therapeutic Humor.

So should you involve more comedy in your life? Turns out that those old episodes of Seinfeld may actually be good for your health: research suggests laughing is not only healthy for the soul, but the body as well.

The Benefits of Cracking Up

1. It’s like a good massage

If your body’s sore after a hard day’s work, invite that hilarious friend of yours over.

3. It increases pain tolerance

According to University of Maryland neuroscientist Robert Provine, pain reduction is one of the biggest benefits of laughter.

Various studies have suggested that those who watched or experienced comedic content were able to tolerate more pain. It’s thought that the reason for this is the release of endorphins after a good belly laugh.

4. It’s good exercise

According to one study, the body’s response to laughter is quite similar to the body’s response to exercise; the appetite increases, just like it does with exercise.

5. It’s healthy for the heart

Using a questionnaire, the study determined that subjects with heart disease were 40 percent less likely to laugh in many situations compared to those without heart disease; on the contrary, they were more prone to anger and hostility.